Living My 60th Year - I still can't find the beads

Those are now empty boxes no longer needed!

Haven't you swore that you had something, remember buying it as if it was yesterday and then you can't find it?

Lately I've been looking for several items - crochet stars, beads from the Fiber Fest this past November, additional handmade snowflakes, and 
 crystal chandelier to name a few.  

What is it with our memory sometime?  Are we not exercising the grey matter enough?  Is there just too much on our plate, that the thoughts just pass through at lightning speed?   

With picking up and rearranging that I started last November, some items seem to have gotten put in the mystery place.  My minimalist strategy has been working quite well except now I am getting to critical mass.   There are spaces now at that stage.  The studio/bedroom and the garage are those places.  

Besides lots client work, office admin work, planting at the farm, neighbor cookout/party at Jim's driveway,  it has been a good week.  Plenty productive!  Best of all, it was housekeeper week and it looks so nice about my space on earth.  

I decided to get to the studio, do a little bit each evening.  I want to find those beads.  Not in the two places where the beads should be - I looked several times.  In the mean time, I am getting distracted with the 'stuff' in boxes, bags, books, etc.  Yesterday, I decided I would dig in a bit further into the various work-in-process projects, maybe, just maybe I'll find those beads.

Reclaiming is great - it's when you undo the work that was done and have yarn/thread for another project.  I reclaimed three projects - nice work though no I'm longer interested in the project.  Two others I cut off the work and placed the work in my samples box.  It's a little box with bit 'n pieces of trying out a yarn/thread or a pattern that I've collected over the years.  


Another project is the stars project.  That kicked off my energy on Sunday.  I needed to starch them, so I made the potion (equal part's Elmer's glue and water), soaked them and repinned them to the drying board.  Later I found that I have another  19 to starch and probably enough yarn to make another dozen.   Yippie. 

It's is snowing in the studio - another one for me!   I found another fifteen flakes already

completed.  From the notations in my various pattern books, I knew I did more, though their abouts were not easily found.  While emptying more mystery bags, I found them.  This find will keep me on my track of making 50 (plus) snowflakes for this year.  


 When you are on a roll, it's amazing what you can find.  Yes I found the chandelier!  The chandelier was packed away in January in the garage so that it would not be bumped into.  Problem was I changed the  box it was packed in.  My mind was telling me one thing and my eyes were not listening.  Another mystery solved.

As for the beads - still can not find them...............  stay tuned, I know they are in that space!  I need to "see" instead of "look".   Have a great week!

Here's to a year of catching the dreams you chase,

doing what makes you smile,

and loving the life you live.

Minimalism - May - Donate and Recycle

What a great month!  

My Minimalist Challenge  from Day 21  - keeping only necessities in the kitchen is completed!  My goodness, what a difference.  I have space I didn't know I had.    What I found were dishes I haven't used since I moved in here some seven years ago.  Just because I had the space, well it is now time to determine what I need to keep because I use it.  Owning it is not a reason to keep it!  I found several vases- one of which I haven't a clue where they came from?  


At the beginning of May, I made a list room by room, closet by closet  - not too detailed,  yet enough to get it down on paper.  I find doing that type of exercise liberating.  The ideas are not running around in my head and when in front of me I can see the small tasks vs the large tasks which means something can get done.

On to the cubbies!  I've one of those 4 x 4 cubbies from Ikea in the kitchen.   I'm down to 10 of the 16 completed.  Here's the success in many ways:

- disposed of a complete cubbie of cook books and donated them to the Friends of the Library for their book sale. Really when I am looking for inspiration - I look online.

- used that open space to put my little crochet project in so that it is not stacked on the counter in the kitchen.  You can see the striped bag in the picture.

- organized/ sorted other papers and found enough space to keep my laptop bag and purse in the cubbie.  

There are four more cubbies and those will be done this month!

The Living space was another set of small tasks.  I found old magazines and old books.  Low and behold the mags were recycled and the old books were donated.  Then audio rack where I  found a box of cassette tapes - 30 tapes!  There were some great albums I listened to back then - not so much today.  So to remember those good titles, I made a list of them, and then took the box and donated them to the Friends Sale.

While donating those items for the Friends book sale - I found that the Senior Center in town has a gift/consignment shop.  When I visited, I found more lace - yeah!  I also found that they are always looking for greeting cards.  Wait, this was a bonus.  I have two boxes full of note cards - not any longer!  A full box of them has been donated and I received so many thanks.  I was grateful not to have to throw them out.

Now off to the transfer station I go - like the old toaster that really didn't work, or those power strips that don't protect any longer along with the UPS boxes that were replaced in the office.  Yeah - proper disposal is key today.  More on my bid to increase recycling here in town later on.

Another part of minimalism is to use up what you already own.  I've got a sizable stash of yarn and WIP projects (work in progress).  I purchased some yarn eons ago because I liked it. I hadn't found the right project, the yarn is a bit cranky to use, whatever!  Then - Viola, in doing some Pinterest, I found the pattern.  Thanks to Stuckathomemom.com , I have my inspiration.   It's the beginning of a baby blanket for a basket I will be making up for a fundraiser in September. 

I even looked at some of those WIP's and said that I'm not interested in that project and reclaimed the thread and yarn to use as another project.  

It was a good month.  By being present, opportunities abound about you.  I found new place to give away items and have made a few folks happier that they are enjoying.   Thank You!

June will be even better.  I've the balance of the cubbies to complete; the 2nd bedroom/studio was taken apart to fix the damage from the ice damming this winter so it will be re-assembled with a minimalist mindset; the garage is looming, now that the light is fixed, I'll be taking on small bits at a time.  My goal is to have the garage complete by July.  Of course there is the balance of the damage from the ice damming needs to be completed.  

Are you beginning to look around?  Have you found some precious minutes to be present with you?  Go ahead I invite you to take a few.... your soul will appreciate the opportunity to speak to you.




Day 21 - kitchen cabinets - only the necessities  - Take one cabinet/drawer a day
0.  Cabinet to the right of microwave -----  December
1.  cabinet left of microwave - May 9th
2.  drawer below #1 January
3.  Drawer below #2 January
4.  Drawer below #3 January
5.  drawer to right of stove January
6. cabinet below #5 - March
7.  drawer on left side of island  February
8.  cabinet below #7 February
9.  drawer on right side of island- March
10.  cabinet below #9 February
11.  cabinet above to the left of sink May 9th
12.  cabinet above sink - May 9th
13.  cabinet above to right of sink May 9th
14.  Pantry closet /February

15.  storage in garage.
16.  storage cube in dining kitchen room
17.  Cabinet in dinning room January
18.  Cabinet Below sink!!  - March